Forest City Church Podcast

Today, Eric Parks has Part Three of the Sounds of the Season series with a message titled Joy.

On today's Podcast, Teaching Pastor Chad Bruegman has Part Two of the series, Sounds of the Season. The message title is Hope.

Today, Campus Pastor Trevor McDonald has Part One of the new series, Sounds of the Season. The message title is Peace.    

Today's message by Teaching Pastor Chad Bruegman is all about baptism at Forest City Church.

DEVOTIONAL DAY 14 - “Let’s Set a New Old Kind of Table… Together.” Perhaps you remember family dinners at your grandparents' house like I do. The table was always set with the best silverware and Sunday dishes. It was a long table because we had a lot of people sitting around it. A special time with great food, friendly conversation, and the one "sure" event in our week.  But, although a very fond...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 13 - “Jesus and the Gospel above All Else.” Remember, seventh-floor culture is a culture of radical hospitality where there is extraordinary effort and emphasis placed on making people feel welcome. It is hospitality that overflows with acceptance, is filled with generous grace, and is beautifully diverse around the person of Jesus Christ. Why is this so rare today? I suspect it is...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 12 - “Reconciliation and Unity.” Let's be candid. Diversity may be beautiful, but it is not always easy. For example, suppose you come from a large family like I do. In that case, you realize how challenging it can be to navigate all the different perspectives and personalities in your family. Throw in ethnic and cultural differences, and you have a real challenge.  What is the secr...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 11 - “Beautiful Diversity.” We live in an increasingly polarized world. We are divided by everything from tribes, politics, race, social groups, and even our football teams.  But into these divisions comes Jesus and the seventh-floor! Seventh-floor culture is a culture of radical hospitality where there is extraordinary effort and emphasis placed on making people feel welcome - all...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 10 - “The Power of Your Table.” Where does radical hospitality start? It starts around dozens of tables in dozens of homes as we invite friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others to the simple ritual of a meal together. Nothing fancy. Simply a gathering of friends and strangers around a table where Jesus and conversation are the common themes.  You may not realize this, but your tab...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 9 - “Reclaiming our Tables.” Food and the table figured prominently in the life of Jesus. There is something special about inviting people into our homes for a meal. It is different from a cup of coffee at Starbucks because in your home, around your table, surrounded by your family, there is an intimacy shared that can not be obtained from a meal elsewhere. It is an invitation into...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 8 - “Overflowing Acceptance.” Our nation seems to know little about how to be accepting of people not like us. Think of the political divides that can separate families. Or the racial tensions that keep cities divided by attitudes, relationships, and even rivers. I am sure that each of us has personal stories of those who have judged us, didn't accept us, marginalized us, and treate...

Today's message by Campus Pastor Trevor McDonald is titled The House We Are Building. 

DEVOTIONAL DAY 7 - “Where Acceptance and Grace Meet.” There is a fantastic account of a dinner with Jesus in Luke 7 , where grace and acceptance meet in an extraordinary way. Let's read it together. When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, He went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 6 - “Radical Hospitality” Seventh-floor culture is a culture of radical hospitality where extraordinary effort and emphasis are placed on making people feel welcome. It is a hospitality that overflows with acceptance, is filled with generous grace, and is beautifully diverse around the person of Jesus Christ. When you think about the tables Jesus graced, you see this radical hospita...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 5 - “Making Time.” We live in a hectic world. How many of us wish we just had room to stop and breathe? There is always something fighting for our attention, but Jesus didn't design us to live that way. In fact, if people are our priority, there must be space in our lives to accommodate opportunities to minister to them along the way. Sometimes, being like Jesus is simply being avai...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 4 - “Everybody Matters.” The life of Jesus was a life lived with people and for people. Almost every account of Jesus in the Gospels finds Him with people. The crowds who followed Him, the disciples with whom He lived and ministered, the curious like Nicodemus, the truth-seeking like the Rich Young Ruler, beggars, and those marginalized by society. Where there were needy people, you...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 3 - “Anyone and Everyone.” Being a new kid in a new town at a new school is difficult. I remember my first day in a new school during my sophomore year in high school (Eric Parks). It is seared in my memory like a bad sunburn. I walked into the lunch room, and it was as if the world had stopped, and everyone just stared at me. I had no idea what to do or where to go. I just stood th...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 2: “We Can’t Become Whole… ALONE.” Have you ever found yourself doing something you know you had no business doing? So you almost unconsciously find a secret corner or nook to hide in so no one will see you. Almost as if you made up your mind that if anybody caught you messing up, they'd immediately judge you?  I know this scenario all too well. At a young age, I learned to hide to...

DEVOTIONAL DAY 1: “A vision of wholeness” "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." - John 10:10b (MSG) Have you ever watched a child play make-believe? Isn't it amazing how easy it is for them to believe that anything is possible? For example, you'll rarely catch a child in a game of superheroes objecting to transforming into Thor or Captain...

Today's message by Teaching Pastor Chad Bruegman is all about Generosity. 

Today's message by Lead Pastor Eric Parks is titled Weekend of Hope. Trevor McDonald, Lauren Scott and Carrington Gaines also join in the conversation.

Lead Pastor Eric Parks has part 4 of the series The Seventh Floor with the message titled, Beautifully Diverse. Carrington Gaines, Lauren Scott, and Angie Addy also join Eric for a Seventh Floor discussion.

Lead Pastor Eric Parks has part 3 of the series The Seventh Floor with the message titled, Filled with Grace and Overflowing Acceptance.

On today's podcast, Rockford Campus Pastor Trevor McDonald has Part 2 of The Seventh Floor series with the message titled Hospitality.

Lead Pastor Eric Parks starts the new series, The Seventh Floor - The Forest City Church Origin Story.